Electromagnetically operated relays



5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 16, 1964 fof fo, if

/NvE/VTOR.' GEORGE M. Ez/E/Q,

5y ATTORNEY Feb. Z2, 1966 G. M. EULER ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED RELAYS Filed March 16, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 66 -lf 7 IIIIIAlinlVI/IIIIIIIIIITIIIIII 1 GEORGE M EULER,

MLM

ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 GEORGE M EULER, y 7M. Meo-f ArTo/M/Ey Feb. 22, 1966 G. M. EULER ELECTROMAGNETICALLY OPERATED RELAYS Filed March 1G, 1964 United States Patent 3,236,969 ELECTRUMAGNETICALLY OPERATED RELAYS George M. Euler, Normal, Ill., assigner to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 352,005 17 Claims. (Cl. 20u-104) This invention relates to electrom'agnetically operated relays and has particular relation to the arrangement and mounting of parts of such relays.

There are numerous applications requiring electromagnetically operated relays having characteristics found in both telephone type relays and industrial duty relays. For example, applications such as elevator control, material handling, data processing and light metal working machinery require multipole relays which have high contact fidelity and fast pick-up and drop-out times. Such applications require additionally that the relays be easy to wire and also be of low cost, compact, sturdy, dust proof construction with small panel area requirements. While certain of the above enumerated features are present in various prior art relay designs, all of such features have heretofore been unobtainable in a single design.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved electromagnetically operated relay which is of low cost, sturdy, dust proof construction and which also possesses high contact fidelity and fast pick-up and drop-out times.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel and improved electromagnetically operated relay adapted for panel mounting which has ixed and movable contacts visible from the front of the panel and which has small panel area requirements.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved relay as defined in the preceding object including manually operable means for operating the movable contacts from the front of the relay.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel and improved electromagnetically operated relay which is of low cost, compact, sturdy, dust proof construction and which includes an insulating housing comprised of a pair of substantially identical detachable housing parts containing elongated electroconductive spring contact leaves having bifurcated ends cooperating With fixed contact means to provide high contact delity.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved relay as defined in the preceding object including terminals for the fixed and movable contacts and for the coil of the electromagnet which are compactly arranged, readily accessible and adapted to slidably receive quick detachable terminal connectors.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a novel and improved electromagnetically operated relay which is of compact, sturdy, dust proof construction including movable elongated electroconductive spring contact leaves having bifurcated contact ends which are operated by -an insulating actuator carried by an armature movable relative to a magnetic core, the core being adjustable relative to the armature to permit adjustment of contact closure and pressure.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a novel and improved relay and socket assembly including an electromagnetically operated relay adapted for insertion and withdrawal with respect to a socket having terminals shaped and arranged to positively engage terminals of the relay to firmly hold the relay in the socket.

In carrying out the invention in one form an electromagnetically operated relay includes an insulating housing which mounts all the parts of the relay including an electromagnet, fixed and movable contacts, and termi- 3,236,969 Patented Feb. 22, 1966 nals for the contacts and for the coil of the electromagnet. The housing is elongated in the direction of spacing of its opposed front and rear ends. The rear end of the housing is closed and is adapted for mounting to a panel or the like and the front end of the hous- 1ng is open and is covered by a transparent cap detachably mounted on the housing. The relay includes one or more movable contacts in the form of elongated resilient electroconductive strips or leaves each mounted at one of its ends and extending towards the front end of the housing. The free end of each contact strip is adjacent the front end of the housing and is bifurcated to form two contact legs each carrying a separate contact tip cooperating with a pair of contact tips mounted by a lixed contact support carried by the housing adjacent the front end thereof. The fixed contact `supports and the contact strips are connected to terminals having parts extending outside the housing, The electromagnet is adjacent the rear end of the housing and includes a magnetic core, a coil for the core and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core and carrying an elongated insulating contact actuator which extends toward the front end of the housing. The actuator includes a plurality of slots through each of which extends a central portion of a separate one of the contact strips. The coil is connected to terminals carried by opposed side walls of the housing and having parts extending outside the housing. The core is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the armature to permit adjustment of contact closure and pressure. The transparent cap mounts a member having a manually deilectable part which extends into the housing for moving the contact actuator in response to manual deflection of the part.

The relay and socket assembly includes a socket having an open end through which the relay is installed and removed. The socket carries a plurality of terminals having parts within the socket in the form of jaws to positively receive terminal blades carried by the relay externally thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. l is a view in side elevation of the relay of the present invention showing the relay mounted on a panel;

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the relay of FIG. 1 taken along the line 2 2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a view with parts shown in section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view in elevation illustrating one half of the relay housing and showing the operating parts of the relay;

FIG. 5 is a view in elevation showing the other half of the relay housing for cooperation with the housing part of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5A is an exploded view showing the parts employed to secure the movable contact strips to their terminals by a welding operation;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a view in elevation showing a modied form of relay and a socket adapted to detachably receive the modified relay;

FIG. 8 is a view in side elevation with parts shown in section and parts shown broken away illustrating the relay and socket of FIG. 7 in assembled condition;

FIG. 9 is a view in top plan of the assembly of FIG. 8 with parts shown in section and parts shown broken away; and

FIG. 10 is a view in perspective of a terminal carried by the socket.

Referring now to the drawings there is illustrated in FIG. 1 a relay 10 constructed according to the present invention. The relay includes a housing 11 formed of a suitable molded insulating plastic material, the housing 11 containing all the operating parts of the relay as will presently appear. The housing 11 includes a pair of opposed ends 12 and 13 (FIG. 3) and the housing is elongated in the direction of spacing of the ends 12 and 13. The rear end 13 is adapted for mounting to a panel or the like and is closed whereas the front end 12 is open and is covered by a detachable transparent cap C described hereinafter. The housing 11 also includes a pair of rst opposed side walls 14 and 15 (FIG. 3) and a pair of second opposed side walls 16 and 17 (FIG. 2). The housing 11 is preferably formed of two substantially identical Ahousing halves or parts 19 and 20 (FIGS. 4 and 5) which are secured together by a plurality of screw and nut assemblies 21 passing through aligned apertures 21 of the housing parts, and which engage in a plane including the longitudinal central axis of the housing. The housing parts 19 and 20 include respectively pairs of inclined side sections 18 and 23, the sections of each pair being transversely spaced and projecting from the associated side walls 14 and 15.

The relay includes cooperating movable and fixed contact means, the movable contact means comprising one or more elongated resilient strips or leaves 22 formed of a suitable electroconductive material. As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the movable contact strips 22 are mounted in any suitable manner at their lower ends at areas substantially midway between the opposed ends of the housing and extend upwardly toward the front end of the housing. In the specific embodiment illustrated, four movable contact strips are contained in the housing with a separate pair of such strips associated with each of the housing halves. As best shown in FIG. 3, each strip 22 includes a bifurcated free end adjacent the front end of the housing providing a pair of contact legs 24 for each strip. Four single pole double throw switches are illustrated and to this end each Contact leg of each strip 22 carries a pair of contact tips 25 on opposite sides of the associated contact leg for cooperation with Contact tips 26 constituting the fixed contact means and secured to electroconductive contact supports 27 mounted by the side walls 14 and 15 of the housing adjacent the front end thereof. Each of the ixed contact supports 27 is integrally attached to a terminal 28 extending through an opening in the adjacent housing side wall externally of the housing for connection to electrical conductors. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the terminals 28 are horizontally aligned along each side wall 14 and 15 adjacent the front end of the housing, and each terminal 28 includes a pair of vertically spaced connector parts 28 adapted to slidably receive quick detachable connector elements on the ends of conductors. The parts 28 include openings permitting wrapping and soldering of conductors thereto. Suitable cement may be applied to the terminals 28 where they project through the housing side walls to securely mount such parts.

As best shown in FIG. 5, each of the movable contact strips 22 is supported in engagement with an electrical terminal 29, each strip 22 preferably being welded to its terminal 29. To this end as shown in FIG. A, a strip 22 is initially positioned between its associated terminal 29 and a weld plate 30 which has a projection 30 extending through an opening of the strip 22 into engagement with an arm 31 of terminal 29. With the parts held in such position the arm 29 is welded to the projection 30 on plate 30. Such arrangement avoids stresses upon the weld during movements of the strip 22. The terminals 29 extend through slots of the housing side walls 14 and and include connector parts 32 integral therewith and located externally of the housing for connection to electrical conductors, As shown in FIG. 2, the connector parts 32 are in horizontal alignment beneath the connector parts 28 and in staggered relation with respect thereto.

With reference to FIGS. 4-6 it is seen that in the illustrated embodiment a separate pair of contact` strips 22 are carried by each of the housing parts 19 and Ztl, and when the two housing parts are secured together, the four contact strips 22 form a pair of planes spaced in a transverse direction parallel to the plane of engagement of the two housing parts and extending generally perpendicular to such plane of engagement. The housing parts 19 and 2t) include respectively projections 33 and 33A adapted to be received within opening 33 and 33 respectively of the housing parts when such are assembled.

In order to effect movement of the movable contact strips 22, an electromagnet 34 is provided at the rear end of the housing generally centrally thereof as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The electromagnet 34 includes a magnetic core 35 surrounded in part by an electroconductive coil 36 and a magnetic armature 37 mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core 35. The armature 37 carries an upwardly extending insulating contact actuator 38 which will be described more fully hereinafter. The core 35 is o-f laminated construction and is of generally U-shaped configuration having a pair of upwardly extending spaced legs 39 with the coil 36 surrounding the left hand one of the legs 39 as viewed in FIG. 4. The right hand leg 39 has an end face 40 which is adjacent the side wall 16 of the housing and which forms a right angle with the base 41 of the core.

In accord with the present invention the core 35 is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the housing and relative to the armature 37. To this end the core is nested at its heel in a frame 42 which is loose on the core, and a pin 43 extends loosely through the core 35 and wings 42' of the frame 42 with the ends of the pin 43 being journaled in aligned openings in the two housing parts 19 and 20. The frame 42 includes a spring projection 44 which extends into engagement with the adjacent wall of the housing to urge the core 35 in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 about the axis of the pin 43.

In order to mount the armature for pivotal movement relative to the core the frame 42 includes an extension 45 projecting upwardly along the end face 40 of the core and through a horizontal slot 46 formed in a generally L-shaped bracket 47 having a pair of legs 48 secured to the undersur-face of the armature 37 (FIG. 3) and having a pair of additional downwardly extending legs 49, only one of the legs 49 being shown in FIG. 4. A pair of coil springs 50 are attached to the ends of the legs 49 of bracket 47 to the wings 42 of the frame 42 so as to normally bias the armature 37 away from the upper face of the left hand leg 39 of the core to the position shown in FIG. 4. The axis of pivotal movement of the armature extends perpendicular to the direction of spacing ofthe ends 12 and 13 of the housing, and is dened by the corner line between the legs 48 and the upper part of the extension 45 against which the right hand edge of the armature bears. The base 41 of the core is urged by the spring projection 44 into engagement with the tip 51 of a screw 52 threaded in a plate 53 detachably secured to the housing, the screw 52 including an actuatable head 54 extending into xa slot in the bottom of the housing formed Aby cooperating semicircular recesses 55 and 55 in the housing parts. Rotation of the screw 54 is eifective to move the core about the axis of the pin 43 relative to the armature 37 so as to vary the gap between the core `and the armature and thus provide an adjustment of the pressure exerted by the tips 25 upon the tips 26 during contact closure. After the adjustment is eiected, a suitable sealant may be inserted within the opening containing the screw head 54.

The contact actuator 38 extends generally centrally of the housing upwardly from the armature 37 and includes an end portion 56 adjacent the front end of the housing. The contact actuator in the embodiment illustrated includes substantially midway between its ends and on each side thereof a plurality of spaced laterallyextending ribs 57 which cooperate to form a plurality of slots 58 through each of which freely extends a central portion of a separate one of the movable Contact strips 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the actuator 38 includes eight ribs 57 with four such ribs on each side of the actuator and spaced in a direction which is generally perpendicular to the axis of pivotal movement of the armature 317. The ribs 57 which face the observer viewing FIG. 4, or the right hand ribs 57 in FIG. 6, cooperate to form three slots 58, the'outer two slots being adapted to freely receive portions of the two contact strips 22 carried by the housing part 20 of FIG. 5. Similarly, the ribs 57 on the hidden side of the actuator in FIG. 4, or the left hand ribs in FIG. 6, cooperate to form three slots 58, the outer two of which freely receiving portions of the contact strips 22 which are carried by the housing part 19. It is understood that the contact receiving slots in the actuator 38 may be formed in other ways than the manner illustrated. The actuator 38 is attached to the armature by means of a plate 59 secured to the upper surface of the armature and having inwardly turned spring arms 60 which engage portions of the actuator to firmly hold the actuator to the armature. If desired, additional support may be obtained by cementing the actuator to the plate 59.

In order to permit energization of the coil 36 to eiect movement of the armature and the actuator attached thereto, the ends of the coil 36 lare each attached to a separate electroconductive plate 61 each having integral therewith a pair of connector parts 62 extending outside the housing for connection to a suitable source of voltage. The two plates 61 are carried each by a separate one of the housing parts 19 and 20 and their connector parts 62 are located in alignment with the connector parts 32 for the contact strips 22.

In operation, when the coil 36 is energized, the core 35 is magnetized and the armature 37 is attracted against the bias of springs 50 towards the upper surface of the core about its axis of pivotal movement. Such motion of the armature causes the actuator 38 to move towards the left as viewed in FIG. 4 and effect displacement of the upper parts of the cont-act strips 22 in such direction. Such movement of the actuator 38 will cause the contact tips 25 to disengage the normally engaged right hand tips 26 and engage the left hand tips 26 to thus open one circuit and close another circuit. The arrangement is such that when the tips 25 and 26 become engaged, the actuator 38 continues to move `for a short distance to effect deiiection of the strips 22 to provide a contact scrubbing action. The am-ount of such scrubbing action and the contact pressure may be factory adjusted by rotation of the screw 54 as previously described. When the coil 36 is deenergized, the springs 50 return the armature to its illustrated normal open gap position. Although four single pole double throw switches are illustrated, -a six pole single throw design can be provided by rearranging the fixed contact means and by adding a pair of contact strips 22 connected to the coil terminals 61.

In accord with the present invention manually acl-tuatable means are provided for operating the movable contacts from outside the relay housing. For this pur- Ipose an elongated member 64 formed of plastic or other suitable material is secured to the outer surface of the cap C. The member 64 includes a terminal extension 65 which is deiiectable with respect to the body of the member 64 and which carries a projection 66 extending downwardly through an opening of the cap C as viewed in FIG. 4. Deiiection of the extension 65 in a downward direct-ion is effective to move the projection 66 downwardly into engagement with the top part 56 of the actuator 38 .and effect movement of the actuator 38 toward the left as viewed in FIG. 4 to move the contact strips 22 toward the left just as if the coil had been energized. The transparent cap C permits viewing of the movable and fixed contacts from outside the housing adjacent the tr-ont end thereof.

In order to mount the relay housing to a panel or the like, a pair of generally T-shaped shock absorbent inserts 67 are frictionally supported within correspondingly Shaped grooves formed in the outer surfaces of the side walls 14 and 15 of the housing parts 19 and 20. The inserts 67 captively mount screws 68 adapted for threaded engagement with a panel. Such arrangement is effective to minimize relay vibration.

Referring now -to FIGS. 7-10 .there is illustrated another embodiment of the invention wherein a relay assembly is provided including a relay 10A of slightly different construction than the relay 10 adapted for insertion and withdrawal iwith respect to a mounting socket 70. Parts of the relay 10A which correspond to similar parts of the rel-ay 10 are represented by the same referrence .characters with the .sutix A added. The relay 10A differs trom the previously described relay 10 in that the side walls 14A and 15A of the housing parts y19A and 29A are vertically extending and are generally flat without the inclined side sections 18 and 23 of relay 1l) so as to adapt the relay 10A for socket mounting. In addition, the terminals 28A and 29A of relay 10A are differently coniigured than the corresponding terminals 28 and 29 of relay 10 so as to be engageable with terminals on the socket 70. The operating mechanism of the relay 10A Iis identical to the operating mechanism of the relay 10.

As viewed in FIGS. 7 and 8, the socket 70 includes a pair of vertically extending spaced insulating walls 71 and 72 which are supported in position by means of a metal frame 73 of generally U-shaped conliguration. The frame 73 has a pair of spaced parallel side walls 74 and 75 which bridge the space between the insulating walls 71 and 72 and which are connected by a base 76. The base 76 has a pair of lateral extensions 77 and 78 (FIG. 9) containing slots 79 and 8@ adapted to receive suitable fasteners 8-1 for mounting the socket to a suitable support. Each of the walls 74 and 75 of the frame 73 includes four tabs 82, 83, 84 and 85, such tabs being shown in FIG. 7 in association with the side wall 74 of the =frame and extending perpendicular to such side wall in engagement with the outer surfaces of the insulating walls 71 and 72 toward the corresponding tabs yformed on the other side wall 75. Each of the tabs 84 and 85 includes a section 86 (FIGS. 8 and 9) which is inwardly displaced drorn the plane of the tab to engage a ledge 86' of the associated insulating wall 7l1, 72 so as to prevent displacement of the insulating walls 71 and 72 relative to ltrame 73 in an upward direction as viewed in FIG. 8. The tabs 84 and 85 include additionally vertically extending ears 87 and 88 received within slots formed in the walls 7i1 and 72 and engageable with ledges 89 and 90 of the walls 71 and 72. The base 76 Oli` Ithe frame is provided with fOur upwardly extending projections 91, only one of which is shown in FIG. 8, engageable with the lower inner surfaces of the insulating walls 71 and 72 with a separate pair of such projections engaging each of such walls.

In FIG. 7, the relay 10A -is shown disassembled with respect to the socket 70 and the relay is assembled relative to the socket by moving it downwardly from its position shown in FIG. 7 through the open end 92 of the socket to the fully assembled position illustrated in FIG. 8. The relay 10A includes a plurality of electroconducl `tive tenminals 28A and 29A for the fixed and movable iiat connector blades 93 and 94 adapted for engagement with one piece terminal and connector members 95 mounted Ion the Walls 711 and 72 of the socket. The members 95 are of identical configuration and each includes a jaw type terminal 96 inside the socket and an integrally connected connector part 9'7 located outside the socket. One of the integral connector-terminal memibers 95 is shown in perspective in FIG. 10.

As best shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the jaw type terminal 96 of the member 95 includes a resilient upstanding strip 100 at one end of `the member 95 and displaced out of Vthe plane thereof. The strip 100 has a central position which is bowed toward the plane olf member 95 but which is spaced therefrom to provide a gap into which the associated blade 93 or 94 is positioned dur- -ing insertion of .the relay 10A into the socket. As shown in FIG. 9, when the relay is operatively positioned within the socket, each of the blades 9.3 and 94 is firmly retained in engagement with the associated strip 100 land an adjacent part of the member 95. The free end of the strip '100 bears against a side wall of the associated one of a plurality of barriers 101 which project from t-he inner surface of the insulating wall '72 and which form compartments for housing the members 95. A plurality of the members 95 are also .carried by the insulating Wall 71 in reversed relation with respect to the members 95 mounted on the wall 72. The resilient str-ips 100 of the members 95 carried by wall 711 bear against side walls of insulating barriers 102 located on the inneilsurface of the wall 7i1 and in staggered relation with respect to the barriers 101. The connector part 9'7 of each member 95 is comprised of t'wo vertically spaced portions located outside the socket and anranged to receive either quick detachable slidable connectors Ior wires soldered thereto.

In accord with the present invention, key means are provided for permitting insertion of the relay relative to the socket only when the relay has a predetermined orientation relative to the socket. To this end, the side walls 74 and 75 of the frame 73 have respectively inwardly displaced sections or webs 103 and 104 configured to interfit Iwith correspondingly shaped channels 105 and 106 formed in the relay housing on opposite side walls thereof. The arrangement is such that interfitting engagement between the Webs and channels can occur only when the webs and channels are aligned in the manner of web 103y and channel 105 as shown in FIG. 7. If the relay were rotated one hundred and eighty degrees about its longitudinal axis from its position of FIG. 7 and an attempt were made to insert the relay into the socket, the sections 103 and 104 and the channels `105 and 106 would be misaligned and portions of the relay housing would engage the upper edges of the frame side Walls to prevent entry of the relay into the socket.

The walls 74 and 75 of the frame and opposed side walls of the relay housing also include cooperating interfitting parts which serve to guide the relay into and out of the socket. For this purpose the walls 74 and 75 of the frame include respectively pairs of transversely spaced and longitudinally parallel extending webs or sections 107, 1018 and 109, 110 displaced inwardly out of the plane of the frame walls and adapted to interfit respectively with transversely spaced and longitudinally extending channels 111, 112 and 113, 114 formed on opposite side walls yof the relay housing.

To -facilitate removal of the relay from the socket a handle 115 is pivotally mounted on the relay housing. The handle is formed of a suitable plastic material and may also be employed -to carry the relay if desired.

The relay of the present invention is observed to have pick-up and drop-out times which average approximately six milliseconds. Also, the arrangement of bifurcated movable contacts which close with a scrubbing motion assures high contact fidelity with positive contact make for millions of operations. Further, the unique arrangement of the relay parts contributes to a low cost compact design having minimum panel area requirements and` permitting visual inspection -of the movable and fixed contacts. The terminals are compa-ctly arranged and are readily accessible to facilitate wiring. With slight modifications of the relay housing and the connectors for the fixed and movable contacts and for the coil, the relay is readily adapted for socket mounting if desired.

While I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to Ithose skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from my invention in its broader aspects and I, therefore, intend in the appended ,claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending therefrom towards the other end of said housing, movable contact means including an electroconductive resilient strip mounted at one of its ends in the housing and extending towards said other end of the housing, said strip having a free end adjacent said other end of the housing and being deiiectable by said actuator in directions generally perpendicular to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, and fixed contact means mounted in the housing adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with said movable contact means, said strip, said actuator and said fixed contact means all being located between a plane .containing said armature and said other end of Ithe housing, said actuator having a slot through which extends a portion of sai-d strip.

2. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed open and closed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent the closed end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending therefrom towards the open end of said housing, movable contact means including an electroconductive resilient strip mounted at one of its ends in the housing and extending towards said open end of the housing, said strip having a free end adjacent said open end of the housing and being defiectable by said actuator in directions generally perpendicular to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, fixed contact means mounted in the housing adjacent said open end of the housing for cooperation with said movable contact mea-ns, a transparent .cap detachably mounted at said open end of the housing to close said open end and through which the fixed and movable contact means may be viewed, and a deiiectable member on the exterior of said cap having a part extending inside the housing to engage and move said actuator in response to deflection of said member, said strip, said actuator and said fixed contact means all being located between a plane containing said armature and said open end of the hous-ing, said actuator having a slot through which extends a portion of said strip.

3. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending therefrom to- Wards the other end of said housing, movable contact means including an electroconductive resilient strip mounted at one of 'its ends in the housing and extending towards said other end of the housing, said strip having a free end adjacent said other end of the housing and being deectable by said actuator in directions generally perpendicular to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, and xed contact means mounted in the housing adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with said movable contact means, said magnetic core being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said armature about a second axis spaced from and parallel to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature.

4. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; aninsulating Contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending therefrom towards the other end of said housing, movable contact means including an electroconductive resilient strip mounted at one of its ends in the housing and extending towards said other end of the housing, said strip having a bifurcated free end adjacent said other end of .the housing providing a pair of contact legs, said strip being deflectable by said actuator in directions generally perpendicular to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, a pair of contact tips each on a separate one of said contact legs, and fixed contact means including an electroconductive member inside the housing, and spaced contact tips on said member for cooperation with the contact tips on said strip, said strip, said actuator and said iixed contact means all being located between a plane containing said armature and said other end of the housing, said actuator having a slot through which extends a portion of said strip.

5. An electromagnetic re-lay comprising, an insualting housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core having a side face adjacent a side wall of the housing, a coil on the core, a magnetic armature having an edge adjacent said side wall of the housing extending parallel to said side wall and perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends, a bracket on said armature having a slot adjacent and parallel to said edge of the armature, a frame on said core having a projection extending through said slot into engagement with said edge of the armature to provide a bearing surface for said edge for mounting said armature for pivotal movement relative to said core about an axis parallel to said edge, return spring means connected between said frame and said bracket for urging said armature away -from said core, a shaft extending loosely through said core and said frame at the heel of the core adjacent said side face of the core and journalled by said housing for mounting said core for pivotal movement relative to said housing and relative to said armature about an axis parallel to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, said frame having a resilient extension projecting from adjacent said side face of the core into engagement with the adjacent side wall of the housing Ito urge the core about the axis of the shaft away from the armature, mova-ble contact means mounted in the housing for movement in response to pivotal movement of said armature, and xed contact means mounted in the housing for cooperation with said movable contact means.

6. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core having a side face adjacent a side wall of the housing, a coil on the core, a magnetic armature having an edge adjacent said side wall of the housing extending parallel to said side wall and perpendicular to the direci@ tion of spacing of said opposed housing ends, a bracket on said armature having a slot adjacent and parallel to said edge of the armature, a frame on said core having a projection extending through said slot into engagement with said edge of the armature to provide a bearing surface for said edge for mounting said armature for pivotal movement relative to said core about an axis parallel to said edge, return spring means connected between said frame and said bracket for urging said armature away from said core, a shaft extending loosely through said core and said frame at the heel of the core adjacent said side face of the core and journalled by said housing for mounting said core for pivotal movement relative to said housing and relative to said armature about an axis parallel to the axis of pivotal movement of said armature, said frame having a resilient extension projecting from adjacent said side face of the core into engagement with the adjacent side wall of the housing to urge the core about the axis of the shaft away from the armature, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other end of the housing, movable contact means including an electroconductive resilient strip mounted at one of its ends inside the housing and extending generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends from its mounted end toward said other end of the housing, said strip having a free end adjacent said other end of the housing, iixed contact means in said housing adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with the free end of said strip, and terminal means electrically connected to said strip and to said fixed contact means and having parts outside the housing for connection to electrical conductors, said actuator having a slot through which extends a portion of said strip for deecting the strip in response to energization of the coil.

7. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one of said ends including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other end of the housing, movable contact means including a plurality of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends inside the housing and being spaced in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends, said strips extending generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends from their mounted ends toward said other end of said housing, and having free ends adjacent said other end of the housing, fixed contact means in said housing adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with the free ends of said strips, and terminal means electrically connected to said strips and to said iixed contact means and having parts outside the housing for connection to electrical conductors, said actuator having a plurality of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips for deiiecting said strips in response to energization of said coil.

8. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one of lsaid ends including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends; an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other end of the housing, movable contact means including a plurality of electroconductive resilient strips each mouted at one of its ends inside the housing and being spaced in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends, said strips extending generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends from their mounted ends toward said other end of the housing and each having a bifurcated free end adjacent said other end of the housing providing a pair of contact legs, a pair of contact tips for each strip with a separate tip on each contact leg of the associated strip, a plurality of electroconductive members each having a contact part inside the housing and a terminal part outside the housing, a pair of contact tips on each of said contact parts for cooperation with the tips on said strips, and electroconductive terminals electrically connected to said strips and having parts outside the housing, said actuator having a plurality of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips for deflecting said strips in response to energization of said coil.

9. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed open and closed ends, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent the closed end thereof, including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the open end of the housing, movable contact means including a plurality of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends inside the housing and being spaced in a direction generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends, said strips extending generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said opposed housing ends from their mounted ends toward said open end of said housing and each having a bifurcated free end adjacent said open end of the housing providing a pair of contact legs, a pair of contact tips for each strip with a separate tip on each contact leg of the associated strip, a plurality of electroconductive members each having a contact part inside the housing and a terminal part outside the housing, a pair of contact tips on each of said contact parts for cooperation with the tips on said strips, said actuator having a plurality of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips for deliecting said strips in response to energization of said coil, and a transparent cap detachably mounted on said housing at said open end of the housing to close said open end and to permit viewing of the movable and xed contact means.

10. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends and a pair of spaced opposed side walls, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one of said ends including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said side walls; movable contact means including a separate pair of electroconductive resilient strips mounted inside the housing adjacent each of said side walls, each strip being mounted at one of its ends to extend generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said housing ends from its mounted end towards said other end of the housing and having a free end adjacent said other end of the housing, said pairs of strips lying substantially in a pair of spaced parallel planes generally perpendicular to said opposed side walls, a separate plurality of xed contact means mounted inside the housing adjacent each of said side walls and adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with the free ends of said strips,a plurality of first terminals each connected to a separate one of said Iixed contact means and having parts outside the housing in spaced aligned relation along said opposed side Walls, a plurality of second terminals each connected to a separate one of said strips and having parts outside the housing in spaced aligned relation along said opposed side walls, a pair of coil terminals each connected to a separate end of said coil and having parts outside said housing in alignment with said parts of said second terminals, and means for deflecting said strips in response to movement of said armature comprising an insulating actuator mounted on the armature and extending therefrom toward said other end of the housing, said strips, said iixed contact means and said actuator all being located between a plane containing said armature and said other end of the housing, said actuator having a plurality of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips.

11. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends and a pair of spaced opposed side walls, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one of saidfends including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to t-he core about an axis generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said side walls; movable contact means including a separate pair of electro-conductive resilient strips mounted inside the housing adjacent each of said side walls, each strip being mounted at one of its ends to extend generally parallel to the direction of spacing of said housing ends from its mounted end towards said other end of the housing and having a free end adjacent said other end of the housing, said pairs of strips lying substantially in a pair of spaced parallel planes generally perpendicular to said opposed side walls, a separate plurality of lixed contact means mounted inside the housing adjacent each of said side walls and adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with the free ends of said strips, a plurality of first terminals each connected to a separate one of said fixed contact means and having parts outside the housing in spaced aligned relation along said opposed side walls, a plurality of second terminals each connected to a separate one of said strips and having parts outside the housing in spaced aligned relation along said opposed side walls, a pair of coil terminals each connected to a separate end of said coil and having parts outside said housing in alignment with said parts of said second terminals, and means for delecting said strips in response to movement of said armature, said last-named means comprising an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards said other end of the housing, said actuator having a plurality of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips, all of said parts of said terminals comprising male connector parts adapted to releasably slidably receive female connector pants.

12. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an elongated insulating housing having opposed ends and split along a plane including its longitudinal central axis to provide a pair of substantially identical housing parts, means detachably securing said housing parts together, an electromagnet mounted in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil for the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis perpendicular to the plane of splitting of said housing, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other en-d of said housing, movable contact means including a pair of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends in a separate one of the housing parts and each included in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and generally perpendicular to the plane of splitting of the housing, said strips having free ends adjacent said other end of the housing and being deflectable by said actuator in directions generally parallel to the plane of splitting of said housing, a rst pair of fixed electroconductive terminals each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts and each including a section inside the housing connected to one of said strips and each including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor, a pair of fixed contact means each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts adjacent said other end of the housing for cooperation with said strips, and a seci3 ond pair of fixed electroconductive terminals each carsaid by a separate one of the housing parts and each mounting a separate one of said fixed contact means, each of said second terminals including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor.

13. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an elongated insulating housing having opposed open and closed ends and split along a plane including its longitudinal central axis to provide a pair of substantially identical housing parts, means detachably securing said housing parts together, an electromagnet mounted in the housing adjacent the closed end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil for the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis perpendicular to the plane of splitting of said housing, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the open end of said housing, movable contact means including a pair of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends in a yseparate one of the housing parts and each included in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and generally perpendicular to the plane of splitting of the housing, said strips having free ends adjacent said open end of the housing and being deliectable by sai-d actuator in directions generally parallel to the plane of splitting of said housing, a first pair of fixed electroconductive terminals each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts and each including a section inside the housing connected to one of said strips and each including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor, a pair of fixed contact means each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts adjacent said open end of the housing for cooperation with said strips, a second pair of fixed electroconductive terminals each carried by a separate one of the housing parts and each mounting a separate one of said fixed contact means, each of said second terminals including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor, a transparent cap detachably mounted on said housing at said open end thereof to close said open end and permit viewing of said movable and fixed contact means, and a pair of electroconductive coil terminals each mounted on a separate one of said housing parts, each coil terminal having a section inside the housing for connection to a terminal of said coil and having a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor.

14. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an elongated insulating housing having opposed ends and split along a plane including its longitudinal central axis to provide a pair of substantially identical housing parts, means detachably .securing said housing parts together, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil for the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis perpendicular to the plane of splitting of said housing, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other end of said housing, movable contact means including a pair of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends in a separate one of the housing parts and each included in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and generally perpendicular to the plane of splitting of the housing, said strips having free ends adjacent said other end of the housing and being deectable by said actuator in directions generally parallel to the plane of splitting of said housing, a first pair of fixed electroconductive terminals each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts and each including a section inside the housing electrically connected to one of said strips and each including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor, a pair of xed contact means each mounted on a separate one of the housing parts adjacent the other end of the housing for cooperation with said strips, a second pair of iixed electroconductive terminals each carried by a separate one of the housing parts and each mounting a separate one of said fixed contact means, each of said second terminals including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor, and a pin extending loosely through said core and journaled at each end in a separate one of said housing parts to mount the core for pivotal movement about an axis parallel tothe axis of pivotal movement of said armature.

15. An electromagnetic relay comprising, an elongated insulating housing having opposed ends and split along a plane including its longitudinal central axis to provide a pair of substantially identical housing parts, means detachably securing said housing parts together, an eletromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil for the core, and a magnetic armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about an axis perpendicular to the plane of splitting of said housing, an insulating contact actuator mounted on the armature and extending from the armature towards the other end of said housing, movable contact means including a pair of electroconductive resilient strips each mounted at one of its ends in a separate one of the housing parts and each included in a plane generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing and generally perpendicular to the plane of splitting of the housing, each of said strips having a bifurcated free end adjacent said other end of the housing providing a pair of contact legs, a pair of contact tips for each strip with a separate tip on each contact leg of the associated strip, a pair of electroconductive members each carried by a separate one of said housing parts with each member having a contact part inside the housing and a terminal part outside the housing, a pair of contact tips on each of said contact parts for cooperation with the tips on the strips, said actuator having a pair of slots through each of which extends a portion of a separate one of said strips for deflecting said strips in directions generally parallel to the plane of splitting of said housing in response to energization of said coil, and a pair of electroconductive terminals each carried by a separate one of said housing parts with each terminal including a section inside the housing electrically connected to a separate one of said strips and each including a section outside the housing for connection to an electrical conductor.

16. An electromagnetic relay assembly comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends and a pair of opposed side walls, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and an armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about a first axis perpendicular to the direction of spacing of the housing ends, movable contact means mounted by the housing adjacent the other end thereof for movement in directions generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of the housing ends in response to movement of said armature, fixed contact means mounted in the housing for cooperation with said movable contact means, a pair of irst terminals carried by the housing each having a section inside the housing adjacent a separate one of said side walls and connected to said fixed contact means, each of said first terminals having a planar blade section outside the housing residing in a plane parallel to the direction of spacing of the housing ends, a socket receiving said housing including an open end and a pair of opposed insulating side walls, a pair of second terminals each mounted by a separate one of said socket side walls and each having a connector section at the exterior of the associated socket side wall for connection to an electrical conductor, and a pair of resilient electroconductive strips each adjacent separate one of said socket side walls at the inner surfaces thereof and extending longitudinally of the socket, said resilient strips each being electrically connected to a separate one of said second terminals and each having a bowed section for engagement with the planar section of the associated rst terminal When the housing is inserted within the socket, said housing being inserted into the socket by movement of said one end thereof through the open end of the socket.

17. An electromagnetic relay assembly comprising, an insulating housing having opposed ends and a pair lof opposed side walls, an electromagnet in the housing adjacent one end thereof including a magnetic core, a coil on the core, and an armature mounted for pivotal movement relative to the core about a first axis perpendicular to the direction of spacing of the housing ends, movable contact means mounted by the housing adjacent the other end thereof for movement in directions generally perpendicular to the direction of spacing of the housing ends in response to movement of said armature, xed contact means mounted in the housing for cooperation with said movable contact means, a pair of first terminals carried by the housing each having a section inside the housing adjacent a separate one of said side walls and connected to said xed contact means, each of said first terminals having a planar blade section outside the housing residing in a plane parallel to the direction ofY spacing of the housing ends, a socket receiving said housing including an open end and a pair of opposed insulating side Walls, a pair of second terminals each mounted by said socket side walls and each having a connector section at the exterior of the associated socket side Wall for connection to an electrical conductor, each of said second terminals also having a terminal jaw including an electroconductive strip integral with said connector section and extending longitudinallyof the socket inside the socket, said terminal jaws being adapted to receive said blades when the housing is inserted Within the socket.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,543,000 2/1951 Deakin 200--166 X 2,735,918 2/1956 Darr 20G-104 X 2,939,932 6/1960 Walter 200-166 X 2,943,158 6/1960 Dubeau 200-166 X BERNHARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. T. D. MACBLAIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN ELECTROMAGNETIC RELAY COMPRISING, AN INSULATING HOUSING HAVING OPPOSED ENDS, AN ELECTROMAGNET IN THE HOUSING ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF INCLUDING A MAGNETIC CORE, A COIL ON THE CORE, AND A MAGNETIC ARMATURE MOUNTED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THE CORE ABOUT AN AXIS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE DIRECTION OF SPACING OF SAID OPPOSED HOUSING ENDS; AN INSULATING CONTACT ACTUATOR MOUNTED ON THE ARMATURE AND EXTENDING THEREFROM TOWARDS THE OTHER END OF SAID HOUSING, MOVABLE CONTACT MEANS INCLUDING AN ELECTROCONDUCTIVE RESILIENT STRIP MOUNTED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS IN THE HOUSING AND EXTENDING TOWARDS SAID OTHER END OF THE HOUSING, SAID STRIP HAVING A FREE END ADJACENT SAID OTHER END OF THE HOUSING AND BEING DEFLECTABLE BY SAID ACTUATOR IN DIRECTIONS GENERALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE AXIS OF PIVOTAL MOVEMENT OF SAID ARMATURE, AND FIXED CONTACT MEANS MOUNTED IN THE HOUSING ADJACENT SAID OTHER END OF THE HOUSING FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID MOVABLE CONTACT MEANS, SAID STRIP, SAID ACTUATOR AND SAID FIXED CONTACT MEANS ALL BEING LOCATED BETWEEN A PLANE CONTAINING SAID ARMATURE AND SAID OTHER END OF THE HOUSING, SAID ACTUATOR HAVING A SLOT THROUGH WHICH EXTENDS A PORTION OF SAID STRIP. 